Input/output connector visualization panel

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention provide information regarding device identity and connectivity among a system of music instruments or other electronic devices. Icons are displayed on a display screen. Each icon corresponds to a connector and can show a signal condition, status, state or other property of the associated connector, or of a device coupled to the connector.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/609,196, entitled “Portable Piano KeyboardComputer”, filed on Mar. 9, 2012, which is hereby incorporated byreference as if set forth in full in this application for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Today's electronic musical devices are often provided with many ways tointerconnect to other devices. Simpler devices such as instruments mayonly have a single signal output such as an electric guitar which uses astandard ¼ inch plug connector to provide an analog musical signalgenerated by the guitar. Other advanced electric guitars or otherinstruments may provide additional types of signals having associatedconnectors such as Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI),Universal Synchronous Bus (USB), XLR connector by Canon, DeutschesInstitut für Normung (DIN) connector, etc.

Each of these various signal and/or connector standards has its ownproperties and each may differ in its ability to convey information inboth the type of information and amount. Generally, the signal/connectortypes are not compatible with each other, yet many signal/connectortypes may need to be accommodated in certain musical devices.

For example, a mixing board, electronic keyboard, electronic instrument,computer, analog to digital converter, music-adapted computing system,etc., all interconnected into a system, such as a recording system, mayrequire dozens or even hundreds of connectors of several or manydifferent types. Usually because of design constraints, many of theconnectors are located along the sides or back of the enclosures of themusical devices. While such a layout is desirable to keep the manycables and wires out of the way of the control and display surfaces, theinability to easily view and obtain information about a connector'scurrent status or operation can cause problems or inefficiencies for auser of the musical devices or system.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention provide information regarding deviceidentity and connectivity among a system of music instruments or otherelectronic devices. Icons are displayed on a display screen. Each iconcorresponds to a connector and can show a signal condition, status,state or other property of the associated connector, or of a devicecoupled to the connector.

A particular embodiment provides an apparatus comprising: a housing foran electronic musical device; a plurality of connectors coupled to thehousing; one or more processors; a display screen coupled to the one ormore processors; a user input device coupled to the one or moreprocessors; a sensor for sensing a connection condition of each of twoor more of the plurality of connectors; instructions executed by the oneor more processors for: displaying a representation of each of the twoor more connectors on the display screen; and indicating the sensedconnection condition for each of the two or more connectors.

Another embodiment provides a method for indicating a plurality ofsensed conditions of a connector, the method including a digitalprocessor to perform the following acts: accepting a signal from asensor to provide the sensed conditions of the connector; and displayingan icon to indicate the sensed conditions of the connector.

Another embodiment provides a processor-readable tangible mediumincluding instructions for indicating a plurality of sensed conditionsof a connector, the processor-readable tangible medium includinginstructions for: accepting a signal from a sensor to provide the sensedconditions of the connector; and displaying an icon to indicate thesensed conditions of the connector.

A further understanding of the nature and the advantages of particularembodiments disclosed herein may be realized by reference to thespecification and the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary musical device that may be used withfeatures described herein;

FIG. 2 shows a rear-view of the musical device of FIG. 1, includingconnectors;

FIG. 3 shows an example arrangement of musical devices in a recordingstudio setup; and

FIG. 4 shows basic components of an input/output visualizer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary musical device such as that describedgenerally in the provisional patent application referenced, above. InFIG. 1, portable piano keyboard 100 includes display screen 110including touch sensors, piano keys 120, touchpad and associated buttons130. Although specific user input/output controls are shown it should beapparent that many variations of musical devices are possible includingother types of user input devices or controls such as an alphanumerickeyboard, mouse, trackpad; buttons, knobs, sliders and other discretecontrols, etc. Other types of output are possible such as audio,discrete lights or indicators, etc. In general, a musical device can beany device that is used in a music application.

Connectors such as 150, 152, 154 and 156 are shown along the left sideof the musical device at 140. Connectors are many and varied and can beof any type used in a musical device to send and/or receive signals toor from another musical device. For example, in FIG. 1, connector 150 isa socket to supply power to musical device 100. Typically, the plug forconnector 150 would be a power adapter but in some cases the plug mayoriginate from another musical device such as a mixing board, powermanagement system, etc., that can be used to provide power to musicaldevice 100. Connectors 152 and 154 are Universal Serial Bus (USB)connectors that can be used to connect instruments, peripherals or othermusical devices .USB connectors provide a way to exchange high-speeddigital signals among musical devices. Connector 156 is a standard audiooutput jack for outputting an analog signal to be heard by a user suchas through headphones or speakers. In general, any type of plug, socket,jack or other means of connecting or coupling two devices together isincluded in the term “connector” including wireless means ofcommunication such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, MIDI, etc.

FIG. 2 shows a rear-view of the musical device of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, theback 210 of display screen 110 of FIG. 2 is shown overhanging connectorsat 200 which are along the back of the musical device. Connectors212-220 are symbolic depictions of any types of connectors, including,for example, those listed in Table I, below.

TABLE I MIDI USB RF Connector RCA connector Audio Connector Audio/VideoConnector HDMI (a/b/c) Ethernet Optical Audio BNC Digital Audio VGASCART Display port Fire wire Thunderbolt DVI VIVO Component XLR TOSLINKDIN TRS: microphone connector Mullet-pin circular connectors Modularconnector D-sub

It should be apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2 that connectors such as at 140and 200 can be difficult or impossible to view from a user's point ofview during normal operation of the musical device. In cases such as theconnectors along the rear of the musical device at 200 it is not evenpossible to see whether a cable has been attached to the connector.Often there are many cables that can be connected to other devices thatmay be too far away to see so that even if it is known that a cable isconnected to a connector it is difficult or impossible to know visuallythe type of device that is connected and the types of signals beingexchanged.

FIG. 3 shows an example arrangement of musical devices in a recordingstudio setup. In FIG. 3, recording system 300 includes many types ofmusical devices such as computer software 310 and computer hardware 320.Computer hardware 320 can include MIDI interface 322. Typically thecomputer software and hardware would be included in a single device suchas a personal computer. Although discrete devices are shown havingdedicated functionality, it is possible that the functionality can bespread or shared among multiple devices. For example, many musicaldevices may include a processor and other computing hardware and thusfunction as computer systems with some or all of their own localresources such as input/output devices, storage systems, software, etc.FIG. 3 is but one basic example of a system. The number and type ofmusical devices, connections and other properties of this example canvary.

Midi Interface 322 includes connections such as MIDI In/Out connections.For example, Synthesizer/Sampler 330 can be connected to computerhardware by MIDI Interface 322 or by other means. Drum machine 332 iscontrolled by an optional expander module 334 via synthesizer/sampler330. Digital deck can be an external storage device such as a digitaltape, solid state memory, etc. Many of the musical devices shown in FIG.3 are connected to audio mixer 336. Note that the devices shown may beanalog or digital or both even though they may be indicated as one orthe other in the diagram.

Musical instruments such as guitar 352 and bass guitar 354 can beconnected to other devices via a line adapter such as line adapter 342or directly as in the case of bass guitar 354 which is directlyconnected to audio mixer 336. Microphone 356 is also connected to audiomixer 336 and the connection can be direct if the audio mixer isprovided with a microphone connector, or indirect via additional musicaldevices such as a microphone amplifier, etc. Mastering deck 344 canreceive audio or digital signals from audio mixer 336. Although somemusical devices might be shown as only sending or only receivingsignals, other types of such devices may provide two-way communications.For example, a standard electric guitar may just provide an analoginstrument signal output. However, more advanced guitars such as a MIDIcontroller guitar, self-tuning guitar, etc., can provide additionaloutput signals and can accept various input signals for controlling orsensing conditions or parameters in, on, or relating to the guitar orother instrument or device. Audio mixer 336 also provides an audiooutput to headphones 360.

As is known in the art, a recording studio or system may be configuredin many different ways, with different types of cables and connectors(including wireless) to interconnect the various devices. For example,the musical device of FIG. 1 might be used for one or more of thefunctions performed by the computer software 310 and hardware 320 ofFIG. 3. Or the musical device of FIG. 1 might be used as an input devicesuch as an instrument or microphone at 350, or as synthesizer/sampler330, etc. In any of these configurations and arrangements of devices itmay be difficult to keep track of the many interconnections and to knowwhat is going on in the system concerning the various musical devices.

FIG. 4 shows basic components of an input/output visualizer. In FIG. 4,connectors 409-414 at 400 represent physical connectors and/or signals212-220 at 200 in the musical device shown in FIG. 2. Although theconnectors are shown located together in a single device, it should beapparent that other embodiments can use connectors from any one or moredifferent devices or objects in the system, such as the recording systemof FIG. 3.

Sensor 420 acts to detect a condition of one or more wires, lines orsignals associated with connector 411. Other sensors can also be used todetect conditions of one or more other connectors such as 409, 410, 412and 414. Depending upon the sensor, one or more conditions may bemeasured or detected for one or more connectors by one or more sensors.Sensor 420 can include, for example, a simple latch or circuit to detecta binary condition, or sensor 420 can include more complex circuitrysuch as a processor, memory, control logic, etc., to act as acommunications bridge between signals at connector 411 and displaycircuitry (not shown) to generate virtual display icon 432 correspondingto connector 411.

Virtual display icons at 430 include icons or other graphics that showthe state or status of a corresponding connector or of wires or signalsin the corresponding connector. Information obtained from sensor 420 isused to update icon 432 so that the state or status of one or moreconditions of connector 411 is continuously displayed. Communicationlinks such as 418 and 422 are used to convey information betweenconnector 411 and sensor 420, and between sensor 420 and displaycircuitry to cause a display of icon 432 on display 440. Displaycircuitry (not shown) can include a processor, memory, storedinstructions, dedicated logic, custom, semi-custom or discretecomponents or other hardware and software to implement the displayand/or control functions. Display 440 can be, for example, screen 110 inFIG. 1. Control inputs for the control functions can be the inputcontrols described in association with FIG. 1 such as piano keys 120,touchpad and associated buttons 130, etc. Note that any suitable type ofdisplay or controls can be used and the display device, controls,display circuitry or other components of the input visualizer system canreside in any one or more musical devices or other devices such as thoseshown in FIG. 3. Such displays, controls, devices or other componentsmay include any suitable components that are presently known or that aredeveloped in the future.

The type and amount of information that is indicated by the icons orother graphics can vary depending on the embodiment. For example, abasic type of icon may just show the type (symbolically) or name (inalphanumerics) of the connector and whether the connector is coupled toa device. Other icons may include additional information such as thetype of other device that is coupled to the connector, the type ofsignals that are being sent through the connector, etc. Table II belowlists some of the types of information that may be sensed and used togenerate a visual indication of the information by using an icon orother graphic associated with a connector. As used in this document,“icon” includes any form of alphanumeric or graphical depiction ofinformation relating to an associated connector's sensed signals.

============== BEGIN TABLE II =========================== i. Is a deviceconnected? ii. Is there a power draw? iii. Connection type (i.e. whichtype of connector is plugged in to that port) iv. Connection activity(is the connection active or not, binary) v. Connection failure (where afault or error has occurred preventing effective connection) vi.Connected Device Manufacturer Identity vii. Connected Device ModelNumber viii. Connected Device Type 1. If the device is a musicalinstrument a. Which form of instrument 2. If device does not sendinformation which can be used to trivially determine its identity 3. Amethod of determining the type of instrument through: a. Sending one ormore signal to the connected peripheral from the device by means of theconnection b. Waiting a time step for a response c. Storing the responsefrom the peripheral d. Decomposing/Analysing the signal from theperipheral and storing the result e. Examining a database of signalsreceived from previous peripherals i. Making an estimate of theperipheral type based on a fuzzy match in the database ii. Making anestimate of the peripheral type based on a precise match in the databaseiii. Alerting the user as to the degree of confidence in the estimate ofperipheral type ix. Measures of connection voltage x. What driver isactivated xi. Upon check in with web service: 1. Is driver the mostrecent? 2. Is the driver correct for this hardware? xii. Identify witherthe a transfer action is active xiii. Measures of connectiontransmission rate 1. This measurement may be represented by an animation2. The rate of change of the animation is proportional to the rate oftransmission xiv. Show differences between 1. Isochronous transfers 2.Interrupt transfers 3. Bulk transfers 4. Current or Max Transfer Speeda. Low, 1.5 Mbit/s or below b. Full, up to 12 Mbit/s c. High, up to 480Mbit/s d. Super, up to 5000 Mbit/s ============== END TABLE II===========================

In the case where the connector is a modern intelligent connector type,such as USB (1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0) then a connected device may have theability to transmit information regarding its connection to the displaycircuitry. A connected device may have the ability to transmit to thedisplay circuitry information regarding its identity (unique deviceserial number, device type/class, manufacturer information, otherinformation).

The size, shape, amount of information, and other properties of theicons can vary. In one example, an icon may only display a small amountof alphanumeric information. In another example, the icon may be agraphically accurate or photorealistic image of its correspondingconnector. Information about the connector can be shown with symbols,words, numbers, charts, animations, highlighting, etc. In general, thedesign of the icons can vary according to the application. Multipledifferent types of icons may be used in a set of icons.

Although the description has been described with respect to particularembodiments thereof, these particular embodiments are merelyillustrative, and not restrictive.

Any suitable programming language can be used to implement the routinesof particular embodiments including C, C++, Java, assembly language,etc. Different programming techniques can be employed such as proceduralor object oriented. The routines can execute on a single processingdevice or multiple processors. Although the steps, operations, orcomputations may be presented in a specific order, this order may bechanged in different particular embodiments. In some particularembodiments, multiple steps shown as sequential in this specificationcan be performed at the same time.

Particular embodiments may be implemented in a computer-readable storagemedium for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, system, or device. Particular embodiments can beimplemented in the form of control logic in software or hardware or acombination of both. The control logic, when executed by one or moreprocessors, may be operable to perform that which is described inparticular embodiments.

Particular embodiments may be implemented by using a programmed generalpurpose digital computer, by using application specific integratedcircuits, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays,optical, chemical, biological, quantum or nanoengineered systems,components and mechanisms may be used. In general, the functions ofparticular embodiments can be achieved by any means as is known in theart. Distributed, networked systems, components, and/or circuits can beused. Communication, or transfer, of data may be wired, wireless, or byany other means.

It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted inthe drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated orintegrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certaincases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application. It isalso within the spirit and scope to implement a program or code that canbe stored in a machine-readable medium to permit a computer to performany of the methods described above.

A “processor” includes any suitable hardware and/or software system,mechanism or component that processes data, signals or otherinformation. A processor can include a system with a general-purposecentral processing unit, multiple processing units, dedicated circuitryfor achieving functionality, or other systems. Processing need not belimited to a geographic location, or have temporal limitations. Forexample, a processor can perform its functions in “real time,”“offline,” in a “batch mode,” etc. Portions of processing can beperformed at different times and at different locations, by different(or the same) processing systems. A computer may be any processor incommunication with a memory. The memory may be any suitableprocessor-readable storage medium, such as random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), magnetic or optical disk, or other tangiblemedia suitable for storing instructions for execution by the processor.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow,“a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein andthroughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and“on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Thus, while particular embodiments have been described herein, latitudesof modification, various changes, and substitutions are intended in theforegoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instancessome features of particular embodiments will be employed without acorresponding use of other features without departing from the scope andspirit as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapta particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit.

1. An apparatus comprising: a housing for an electronic device; aplurality of connectors having a corresponding plurality of connectortypes coupled to the housing one or more processors; a display screencoupled to the one or more processors; a user input device coupled tothe one or more processors; and a sensor for sensing a status conditionof each of two or more of the plurality of connectors; and a tangiblestorage medium including instructions executable by the one or moreprocessors for: displaying a representation of each of the two or moreconnectors on the display screen; indicating the connector type of eachof the two or more connectors; and indicating the sensed statuscondition for each of the two or more connectors.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the sensed connection condition includes whether asignal in the connection is active or inactive.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the representation of a connector is in a differentcolor for different connectors.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesensor additionally senses for each of the two or more connectors one ormore of the following: (i) whether a device is connected to a connector,(ii) whether there is power being drawn from a connector, (iii)connection activity, (iv) connection failure, (v) connected devicemanufacturer identity, (vi) connected device model number, (vii)connected device type, (viii) associated driver, (ix) characteristic ofthe driver, (x) whether a transfer action is active, (xi) connectiontransmission rate, (xii) transfer type.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the electronic device is an electronic music device.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises communicationscircuitry allowing wireless communication between the electronic deviceand one other device.
 7. A method for indicating a condition* of aconnector characterized by a connector type, and a sensed statuscondition, the method including a digital processor to perform thefollowing acts: accepting a sensor signal from a sensor to provide thesensed status condition of the connector; displaying an icon to indicatethe connector type; and displaying an icon to indicate the sensed statuscondition of the connector.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the methodfurther comprises using the digital processor to accept at least onesensor signal from the sensor to provide at least one of the followingsensed status conditions: (i) whether a device is connected to aconnector, (ii) whether there is power being drawn from a connector,(iii) connection activity, (iv) connection failure, (v) connected devicemanufacturer identity, (vi) connected device model number, (vii)connected device type, (viii) associated driver, (ix) characteristic ofthe driver, (x) whether a transfer action is active, (xi) connectiontransmission rate, (xii) transfer type.
 9. A processor-readable tangiblemedium including instructions for indicating a condition of a connectorcharacterized by a connector type, and a sensed status condition, theprocessor-readable tangible medium including instructions for: acceptinga sensor signal from a sensor to provide the sensed status condition ofthe connector; displaying an icon to indicate the connector type; anddisplaying an icon to indicate the sensed status condition of theconnector.
 10. The processor-readable tangible medium of claim 9,wherein the instructions further comprise accepting at least one sensorsignal from the sensor to provide at least one of the following sensedstatus conditions: (i) whether a device is connected to a connector,(ii) whether there is power being drawn from a connector, (iii)connection activity, (iv) connection failure, (v) connected devicemanufacturer identity, (vi) connected device model number, (vii)connected device type, (viii) associated driver, (ix) characteristic ofthe driver, (x) whether a transfer action is active, (xi) connectiontransmission rate, (xii) transfer type.